Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Sweet Dreams are Made of This ❯ part 7 ( Chapter 7 )

Sweet Dreams Are Made of This

By: Panchan

Part VII

"Now that you're all here," Zechs started, taking his place at the front of the table. Nine heads swiveled towards him in rapt attention, "I think it's time to explain the full situation.

"For those of you who don't know, Dr. Mulich, a crazed geneticists, is beginning a campaign to destroy the preventors, reinstate the country borders and hopes to send the world back into a state of war. In doing this he assumes that work will readily come to him to build armies of his 'perfect' soldiers, of which we have five examples," the white-headed man nodded towards the Survivors, "Each of the ex-Gundam pilots have been assigned a Survivor partner, omitting Kougji who is both. The reason behind this is to unite our two elite teams. I understand that of the S-team, only Kougji has had MS training?"

"I've been taught the basics, but that's all," Witch said. No one else replied. Trinton followed in saying that he use to be a M.S. pilot for O.Z.

"All right, then. Hardly any extensive training. I ask that the G-pilots will please teach their partner a bit more, mainly just the maintenance and basic controls. Partners will be rotated so that you can all get the feel of working together and so that we can see what team pairings work best. Standard procedure, I'm sure you all understand." Zechs paused for their various acknowledgements of understanding. "Good.

"I'd also like you to know that we have a year to prepare ourselves. Dr. Mulich, as most of you know, seems to be relatively insane and apparently *wants* us to put up a good fight against him. In this we will not disappoint him.

"Now, for the assignments. Each team has been handed manila folders with the specifics of your tasks explained in detail. Please make sure that these assignments are not known to any other people save yourselves. That is all. Dismissed." The nine stood and exited the room in pairs, each heading back to their own workstation.

Outside, Hilde and Sally waited and grabbed Kougji as he walked out. The boy did little to resist as they were pulling him in the direction he wanted to go anyway.

"Listen, Heero, Kougji, whoever you are. We need to talk," Sally started before the brunette could say anything.

"I know that it might not seem important but you've really hurt Relena..." Hilde picked up after the elder woman stopped; shutting the door to the room they had dragged the boy into.

"Listen-" He began to protest before being interrupted.

"And don't tell us that you don't care, 'cause we know that you do," Sally chided.

"After all, why would you have lead her on like this unless you did?" Hilde continued.

"No one is that heartless, are you Heero?" A pattern was beginning to form.

"Anyway, she's going to be in town next week."

"We were thinking that you could do something nice for her to make up for all of this."

"Don't think that we don't understand why it happened. You're friend was sick after all, but Relena is a very sensitive girl and she needs reassuring that you didn't just go off and dump her like that."

They continued on like that for a while, not noticing the growing horror that was enveloping Kougji. Not that it was hard *not* to notice, as he was a master at hiding his feelings. At this moment, however, he just couldn't believe his ears. *He* lead *her* on? She was the one that had always been following him around when he said he'd *kill* her. Had it not occurred to them that she was a suicidal stalking maniac? This was beginning to become just a little too much. However, instead of following his first instinct to pull a gun on the offending females, he just stood there in silence and then walked out of the room when they were done.

By the time he hit the hallway he had made up his mind; yes, he was going to go to the little rendezvous that the two had planned. But this time he was going to make it clear that he had no interest in Relena at all. This time everything was going to end, no more stalking, no more cries of 'Heero come kill me' no more whining, temperamental blondes. Instead he was thinking more and more about Asians... cute, not quite human Asians to be precise.

~~

Witch tapped the key on the computer. It beeped but nothing else. She did it again; same result. She did that for a few more minutes before growling in impatience and slamming her hand down on the keyboard. The Preventors custom desktop appeared. "I hate you."

"Huh?" Quatre asked from across the desks they had pushed together.

"Not you, this damned thing!" The woman growled. The blonde chuckled then walked around the furniture to peek over her shoulder, "What are you trying to do?"

"I'm *trying* to log on to this piece of junk!" Witch responded, emphasizing her words with a slap to the monitor.

"Hey, hey hey! It's a *machine*, it'll work when you love it!"

"I'll love it, when it *works*"

They looked at each other then burst out laughing. Quatre was first to regain his composure, "Okay, here's how you do it. First..." He proceeded to walk her through the steps, first showing her how to log on, then how to search for non- and specific information on the database, then how to type and send a report, the special features like Chat rooms the Preventors had added to encourage bonding between their troops, as a well-bonded group works better together. Several hours later the two exited the office, having noticed the time and both feeling a bit more than hungry.

"Well, as I'd rather not go back to the cafeteria I think I'll go pick up something to eat. Join me?" Quatre asked his new partner, looking down at the Asian woman.

"I don't know..." She felt a little awkward about this, as she didn't yet have any money to her name. She had completely forgot to ask, but Holly said it was pretty good money.

"Please, it's my treat. I'd love to learn more about you," The blonde smiled.

"Well... All right," Witch grinned up at him. He offered her his arm and she took it, glad to have another friend on the Preventor force.

~~

"This place is amazing, Quatre... I hope this is all right," Witch said in a voice that conveyed her uneasiness at the splendor of the restaurant.

"Of course. My sister, Amrui, owns the chain and there's no better seafood in the European area. I eat here all the time," 04 answered brightly.

The waiter appeared at that time and the two placed their orders after a bit of discussion on what was good. Afterwards their drinks arrived and the two were left alone to converse.

"Witch... I don't mean to be rude, but might I ask you a question?" Quatre asked hesitantly, hoping that the woman across from him wouldn't be offended by his next query.

"Shoot."

"How did you get your name? It's quite unusual."

Witch laughed, "It's kind of funny, actually. Like most of us, I remained nameless for quite awhile, wanting to find a name that was perfect for me. One day I was in meditation and I happened to yawn. The instructor noticed and whacked me with his walking stick. It had been quite a day and I didn't have all of discipline I have now... so I bit him, and I held on. Well, he started to jump around, screamin' and cursin' with me just hanging on to his ankle with my teeth. When they finally managed to pry me loose from the guy, he was calling me a devil, a little hell-raiser and finally said I was nothing more than a little witch. I liked that name, so I kept it. Of course that view on a true witch is completely false, as they prefer *not* to hurt anyone, but that didn't matter to me then." The young woman took a sip of her water, smiling at the man's amused expression.

"Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a question..."

"All right," The man conceded.

"How long have you been like this?"

"What do you mean?"

"Gay, I believe is the term now," She supplied, watching his expression turn to surprise.

Quatre stared at her for a moment, his cheeks reddening, "How did you...?"

She shrugged lightly, "I could just tell. The way you look at Trowa when you think that no one else is looking, subtleties in the way you act, the way that you phrase things. The way you dress. I had several homosexual instructors and I kind of know how to recognize a gay man when I see one."

"So you're a lesbian?"

"No. I don't have gay-dar, just a learned ability," She replied, "I hope I didn't go over the line, though..."

"No, no, it's all right..." Quatre blushed again, "And you're right about Trowa only... we're not..."

"I know." The two shared a look and smiled; there was an understanding there.

"Speaking of couples though... you and Kougji?" The man asked after the waiter dropped off their food and left again.

"No," she responded immediately, though a small hint of sadness appeared in her eyes, "Had things been different.... possibly."

"You love him?"

"I always have. You know what they say... absence makes the heart grow fonder," she absently took a bite of her grilled shrimp, chewed and swallowed before continuing, "But he has that girl now, what was her name, Relena?"

Quatre felt a small amount of shame then, knowing that he had pushed Heero towards the blonde just as much as every other person who knew them had and here, in front of him, was a girl so in love with him that she cared only about his happiness, strait to the point where anyone could tell that she'd never tell him. Unlike Relena, who, though she had her good points, was determined to chase him to the very end. However, Heero had plainly not chosen either. There were love triangles beginning to form now and this rested quite uneasily in the empathic man's heart. "Yes, Relena Dorlian..." He was probably going to regret this later, "And he's not with her."

"What?!" Witch saw the people looking at them and lowered her voice, "What? But the way they were looking at her... what he said..."

"What he said? All he's ever told me is that he wasn't sure."

"Well, that *is* what he told me. I just thought that she wasn't ready to commit or something by his tone..."

Quatre laughed, "No, no. Believe me, Relena was willing to commit *years* ago. It's Kougji that won't stick with it. Look, what I think I'm trying to say here is that he's free, so you should go for it. I think you might be surprised at the outcome."

"Maybe you're right... and maybe you should follow your own advice."

There was silence for a long time as the two thought, each going through their plates as their minds mulled over their individual love lives.

"Thanks, Quatre... for everything. I'd appreciate it, though, if we could keep this between ourselves?" Witch asked finally as their clean plates were taken and they waited on the desert they had ordered.

"I was just about to say the same thing, Witch." Once again they shared a look of understanding. Yes, this partnership would work out very well.

~~

"So, Dorin, what did you want to talk about?" The redhead asked as she curled up on the large, overstuffed couch in

"You've noticed how Witch and Kougji look at each other, I believe?" Dorin replied, grinning at his two companions.

"How could we not?" Trinton laughed staring down at Holly, "Enough room for me?"

The woman glared up at him in a possessive manner, "Naahhh, my couch."

"Oh really?"

"Really." Following her response the elder man playfully attacked her, wrestling with the redhead until he was seated on the couch with her head rested in his lap, the rest of her curled up on the remaining bit of couch. Dorin just watched all of this like it was perfectly normal, which, to them, it was. At times of perfect ease they could all resort to acting like a litter of playful puppies, or kittens, if you prefer. Playful biting and scratching was normal, and a wrestling match could break out for any reason, it was fine with them unless someone got seriously hurt, physically or otherwise.

"I wanted to know if either of you were interested in a game of match-maker?" The African man asked when they had settled down again.

"Sounds good to me," Trinton responded, followed quickly by Holly's agreement. "Those two will need a hand, they're both too closed off."

"Relena could be a problem," Holly added. Both men looked at her with confused expressions, "She's some girl that seems to have a rather active interest in our dear Kougji."

"ahhaa. I doubt she'll be that much of a problem," Trinton said, a knowing smile appearing on his lips.

"Why do you say that, brother?" Dorin asked.

"You should see what he bought for her this afternoon.... i was really surprised, but it shows that he thinks a lot about her. I don't think that he's given it to her yet, he's probably wondering whether he should or not."

"What is it?"

~~

"All right, now. This wire, the red and black one here, connects to this yellow one. Once connected do *not* take them apart without disconnecting the solid red one over here. Otherwise you'll trigger the detonation device. You don't want a Gundam blowing up in your face," 'even if you could probably survive it' Quatre mentally added. Beside him Witch was nodding, keeping her eyes intently focused to the switchboard laid out before them. The two were situated in a small classroom annex in the warehouse the Sandrock II was being constructed in. Right now he was teaching her how to fuse and defuse the self-detonation device that all Gundams were equipped with.

The woman had moved through the basic control lessons in two days and they, on the third day, was already one fourth complete on the small, three foot working Gundam model he was having her build. The other one, the one he had her practicing with using a remote control panel, was sitting in the corner forgotten for the time being.

Witch leaned over the skeletal system that was lying on the table and began to connect wires again, careful not to accidentally disconnect or otherwise disturb the rest of the wire tangle. Some of those connections were booby-trapped and to disturb them meant some pretty good, or bad depending on your outlook, burns.

Quatre watched while she did this. The two had been in there for more than five hours all ready and she was showing no inclination letting up now. It was like the girl was nothing more than a giant sponge, ready and willing to take on any knowledge the man might give her. In fact, he was a little more than surprised, for she couldn't have had more than three weeks worth of M.S. training before hand and she had just brought several modifications that could be made to his attention. He, of course, had related this to the building crews. Needless to say, they had seen the wisdom in all of her suggestions and had taken them in.

The woman stood up strait again, wiping the back of her hand across her forehead. "You look like you could use a break. How about it?" Quatre asked, hoping she'd accept. He was getting rather antsy just sitting here.

"Sure. How long've we been in here?"

The duo walked out the door and began a stroll through the warehouse, trying to stay out of the way of the crew as they scurried around the Gundam's frame. So far they were only slightly ahead of Witch in their work and she would be finished long before they were, but the smaller versions were less complicated than their large counterparts.

"About five hours, give or take."

"Sorry," Witch apologized, a sheepish look on her features.

"S'okay," The two emerged out into the bright afternoon. All around them, other Gundam Crews were scurrying, bringing new parts to their warehouses. Quatre turned to his companion, a mischievous smile on his cute little face, "What say we get out of here for awhile?"

"Were to?"

"Mall?"

"Good choice!" They laughed as they walked towards the garage. Neither of them had had time to leave since the first day they met, and a little outing was welcomed.

Thirty minutes later the duo emerged into the little-crowded mall. It was only two p.m. on a Wednesday so most people weren't at the mall. Immediately they headed towards the food court, both having missed lunch that day. Witch with her tostada and Quatre with his burger and fries met back up at a table in the middle of the court.

"Sennywhoo, while we're here I have *so* got to look for some new shoes. I saw these cute pair of black go-gos the other day, to *die* for."

"You don't have enough clothes?" Quatre asked teasingly.

"Is it my fault that I was deprived of fashion for so long? Besides, Holly says that no girl can have too many clothes. Then again, she's kind of a clotheshorse."

"And you're not."

"Shut up," Witch laughed.

"No, seriously. Why the sudden interest in what you look like?" The blonde raised his eyebrows expressively, indicating that he knew the answer perfectly well.

"Quatre..." Witch groaned, blushing, "Don't tease."

"Hehe, all right," The Arab shook his head slightly, still chuckling at her murderous expression. That was when he noticed the pair behind her, at the entrance to a rather fancy restaurant. Heero and Relena stood there staring at each other and he could practically hear the 'Heero' 'Relena' 'Heero' ' Relena' monotony starting up. The worse thing about this was the fact that they were holding hands. The poor man wasn't sure whether to cheer or not, as he knew what would happen to the woman in front of him, whose hopes he was responsible for raising.

"Quatre? What're you looking at?" Witch turned around to see before the Arab could say anything. For a moment wasn't quite sure what she was seeing, then it dawned on her. Oddly enough, there wasn't any pain, just a dead, dull sort of feeling. She had known all along that she was nothing more than a 'sister' to him. Slowly she turned back around, "Oh... You finished? I think I'd rather get over to that store before the end-of-school rush. I could use a new CD too, now that I think of it, so we should probably run by Sam Goodies."

Quatre didn't like this at all. To anyone else it would seem that she didn't care, but he knew better than that. "Witch are you o-"

"I'm fine!" she snapped, picking up her tray and purse, "I'll be at Hot Topic." The girl dumped her tray's contents, half eaten, down the nearest trashcan then left in as big a hurry as her dignity would allow. Behind her the blonde sighed and finished off his meal before he went after her, it was best just to let her cool for a few minutes, after all.

End Part VII